SQL Heroes : official contest rules

Is everyone a winner?

reedme — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:25:47 GMT

Without getting into the philosophical question for the ages “Is everyone a winner?”, the question came up about Finalists® over the weekend. Because we had to kick a number of entries that didn’t meet the simple rules outlined in the Official Contest Rules®, we have fewer than 15 qualified entries. This means that everybody blogged about so far is a Finalist®.

They haven’t won any prizes, yet, since the SQL Rangers have just started picking through the code with their Fine-Toothed Combs®. After all, the suspense will remain in place until morale improves (or until SQL PASS 2008) whichever comes first. Heh.

To summarize, here’s the list of SQL Heroes 2008 Contest Finalists:

SQL Hero(es)	Project
Ignat Andrei	http://www.codeplex.com/CDCHelper/
Hou Jacky	http://www.codeplex.com/hashByArrayLink
Robert Hartskeerl	http://www.codeplex.com/sqlmonitoring
Gorm Braarvig	http://www.codeplex.com/SqlClrMeasureTime
Daniel Gould	http://www.codeplex.com/SSMSAllocation
Greg Galloway (with Darren Gosbell and John Welch)	http://www.codeplex.com/bidshelper
Jason Massie	http://www.codeplex.com/QPee
John Calvin Welch	http://www.codeplex.com/ssisUnit
Jonathan Matthew Kehayias	http://www.codeplex.com/ExtendedEventManager/

Five of those projects are expected to win a Windows Home Server® very much like the one that sits quietly next to the TiVo and Xbox 360 underneath my LCD TV.

Yes, I’ve actually used the Home Server restore-from-backup feature to recover accidentally deleted Files of Great Importance® and thereby saving my marriage. Yes, the Home Server is quieter than the Xbox 360 when the DVD is spinning. (I have one of the older Elites before they got the quiet new optical drives that come with the new Xbox 360s.)

Don’t forget to vote! SQL Heroes 2008 Community Finalists Survey

Some of you have already voted... for your favorite SQL Hero... the rest of you are overdue!

reedme — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 03:57:54 GMT

Our survey got posted to Connect a little while back (life and work kept getting in the way of posting all the entries). Those of you who spend more time on Connect than is strictly healthy have already seen it and voted. There are a lot of overachievers in the SQL Server community, I tell ya’.

For the rest of us, here’s the official announcement of the survey:

SQL Heroes 2008 Community Finalists Survey

Pick your Fave Five Finalists® and help them on toward the Winners’ Circle® at SQL PASS 2008!

Just in time...

reedme — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:17:12 GMT

The end of the contest runway is fast approaching... and we've got some great entries! To celebrate, the WHS team has released Windows Home Server Power Pack 1 so that it will be ready and waiting if/when your entry wins.

But you have to play to win, right? Get your Official Contest Entry™ in today!

Individual T-shirts for entrants going in the mail...

reedme — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 02:09:17 GMT

I've got a few Ts left over after Tech*Ed 2008, and I don't want 'em to go to waste, so I'm going to put T-shirts for individual entrants in the mail next week.

Those of you who have signed up already will be getting an email from me asking what size you want (of the limited options we have left). If your email bounces, you're OOL; if your mailing address is in Mandarin or Russian, you'll have to help me out with an English collation translation.

If you want one of these classic, sexy T-shirts, get your Official Contest Entry™ in before Monday 30 June (while supplies last)!

BTW, just as a reminder, Monday 30 June marks the "You only have 2 months left!" date. Just a subtle hint. Heh. Play early. Play often.

What is the Ms-PL? Why do I need one?

reedme — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 20:26:18 GMT

Instead of cribbing the whole text of the Ms-PL and dropping it here, I'll just refer you to the source:

Open Source at Microsoft: Licenses: Microsoft Public License (Ms-PL)

That hopefully answers the "what" question.

The "why" question is a little more interesting... You need one because:

Your contest entry must be Ms-PL-ed to be considered for a finalist and/or a winner.
You need it to protect your own copyright and intellectual property.
Your users need it so that they can legally use it, grow it and extend it.

Oh, and since it's pretty short, you should probably read it... especially 3(D) which says (paraphrased): "Don't forget to include a copy of the license in your distribution somewhere."

Good luck!!

Can IT Pros play, too?

reedme — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:46:20 GMT

When more than one person whose opinion I respect asks me a "silly" question, I have to reevaluate my assessment of "silly." So...

Yes.

IT Pros can play, too. It's in the Official Contest Rules™. I promise. There are no restrictions on the kinds of deliverables that you can check into CodePlex and submit as a contest entry (although they do have to be in English or a facsimile thereof so that we can judge them fairly).

Don't expect just any old junk to win, though! The SQL Rangers have pretty high standards.

I sort of understand where the question comes from, since we talk about "community applications" and "tools and utilities" a lot, but... I have a pretty promiscuous definition of "application" and "utility"and "tool." (You, on the other hand, have a dirty mind. I see what you're thinking there!)

IT Pros who support SQL Server and don't feel like writing "code" can still create a CodePlex project to house design templates, best practice documents, operational checklists, performance tuning methodologies, etc. One of the most common things that I was asked for when I was out in the field was operational guidance, step-by-step installation documents, etc. Don't forget to submit The Survey™, too! Your entry won't count without a matching CodePlex project.

Even a collection of SQL Server 2008 upgrade war stories might be a fun entry...

Can SQL Heroes around the world play, too?

reedme — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:49:57 GMT

Since I've gotten the question more than once, I'll answer it here and then point y'all back to the Official Contest Rules™. See section 3.0 which is entitled "Can you enter?"

The simple answer is: Yes.

Unless, of course, you work for Bill (like I do) or live in a couple of countries that are off-limits for legal reasons, etc. See the Official Contest Rules™ for more details.

Since that Yes seems a little out of context, here's the recurring question that it pertains to: "Is the SQL Heroes 2008 contest open to participants outside the United States [and/or North America]?"

Yes, we love all the member of our SQL Server community worldwide. Whether you're in Romania or South Africa or China (or anywhere not specifically excluded in the Official Contest Rules™), you can enter the Contest™!!

Because we were thinking about YOU when we drafted the rules, there is even a clause in the Official Contest Rules™ to allow for alternative prizes if there are import/export restrictions on Windows Home Servers where YOU live. We'll work something out. But you have to enter the Contest™ and Win™ first! Hee-hee.